Getting Away with Murder

Benazir Bhutto's Assassination and the Politics of Pakistan

31 January 2014

Description

By the lead commissioner of the UN investigation, an authoritative account of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

On December 27, 2007, a suicide bomber killed Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan. Brilliant and charismatic, the head of a political family as important to Pakistani history as the Gandhis in India or the Kennedys in the United States, Bhutto had recently returned from exile to challenge military dictator Pervez Musharraf in a democratic election. In the aftermath of the assassination, some blamed Musharraf; others blamed terrorists linked to the Pakistani security service, the ISI; still others pointed the finger at Bhutto’s own spouse and entourage; and some speculated that it was a lone wolf attack. Though the individuals behind the conspiracy have never been found, in Getting Away with Murder Heraldo Munoz goes further than anyone else to unravel the mystery of Bhutto’s death. Moreover, he explains the unexpected role America played in the tragic events, the byzantine relationship between Pakistan and the United States, and how Bhutto’s assassination impacted world politics. In a country ruled more often by military dictators than by elected governments, Bhutto offered a secular, democratic hope. Arguably one of Pakistan’s most iconic political figures, she became one of the world’s few female heads of government. Her assassination tore the country apart, destabilizing the entire region. Leading the United Nations’ inquiry, Munoz delved into murky world of Pakistani politics and the infamous Bhutto family, awash in charisma and power, controversy and violence. His year-long investigation frames a story of betrayals, corruption, foreign influence, and unsolved political assassinations.

Munoz provides new insight into Bhutto’s unprecedented rise and an unflinching, minute-by-minute narrative of the assassination itself. With impeccable research, Munoz also situates Bhutto in the decades-long history of U.S.-Pakistan relations and the emergence of global terrorism, pinpointing her death as the moment when those relations changed forever.

The result is a gripping narrative of Pakistan’s turbulent political realities and the death of its leading politician.

Reviews

"This is a chilling account of deceit, corruption and murder at the highest levels of power in Pakistan, an American ally. A carefully researched and compelling tale of tragedy masked as a government." — Tom Brokaw

"Muñoz has written a brilliant, incisive and page turning book—the last word on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. The murder of Benazir Bhutto shook a nation and the world but until now there has never been an authoritative explanation as to how and why she died. Muñoz comes closest to identifying those guilty of her untimely and tragic death, guiding us through the enigma and chaos that is Pakistan and the double dealing that sustains the tortured relationship between that country and the United States." — Ahmed Rashid, author of Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

"Like some of history’s other high-profile assassinations, including that of John F. Kennedy, the killing of Benazir Bhutto remains cloaked in rumor, speculation, and suspicion. Heraldo Muñoz and his colleagues found skeletons in many closets, smoking guns in many hands…The story of their search makes for a gripping read, but far more valuable are the insights Muñoz elicits about the nature of Pakistani society and its political culture." — Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan

"One opens this book to learn more about what lay behind the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto and is immediately drawn into its context—the turbulence of Pakistan’s politics and international relations going back to the foundation of the state. The book is essential reading for all who want to understand more about the state of Pakistan and the fate of one of its most talented daughters." — Helen Clark, administrator of UNDP and former prime minister of New Zealand

Hardback

9780393062915

165 x 244 mm • 272 pages

£20.99

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Ebook

9780393241396

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